For more than two thousand years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality.

In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any reader can benefit from its teachings - teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion. Comprised of his "Heart of Wisdom" talks, originally delivered to thousands of listeners in 2001, the book offers the Dalai Lama's commentary as well as his easy-to-follow overview of Buddhist philosophy that places the sutra within its historical and philosophical context. With additional contributions by scholar and translator Thupten Jinpa, Essence of the Heart Sutra is the authoritative presentation of a text seminal to the world's religious heritage.

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In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama translates and interprets a central teaching of Buddhism with his trademark precision and straight talk. In the Heart Sutra, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara describes how to train in the perfection of wisdom by seeing through the illusions of all things. The Dalai Lama goes through the text passage by passage, after an extensive introduction to the basics of Buddhism and the Mahayana tradition's emphasis on emptiness. This doesn't take long, as the entire sutra covers all of three pages, but the Dalai Lama shows how understanding emptiness is a key to happiness and liberation from suffering. Although Essence of the Heart Sutra does not differ significantly in overall message from previous offerings such as The Meaning of Life and An Open Heart, in this book the Dalai Lama stays focused on the relevance of the Heart Sutra, and who better to explain it than the man reported to be the present-day incarnation of Avalokiteshvara himself. --Brian Bruya--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.

Review

"Lovingly and wisely edited by Jinpa, the bulk of the book is consumed with a fairly meaty exploration of the Heart of Wisdom sutra, a classical Mahayana text, and as such will be useful to established practitioners as well as neophytes." (Publishers Weekly)

"In this volume, the Dalai Lama demonstrates how the core teachings of Buddhism and other major schools of thought are contained within the text of the Heart Sutra. [In fact,] the worldview in these ancient teachings has an eerie resemblance to the world as described by 20th-century quantum physics. ... With his usual penetrating intelligence, simple humanity, humor and compassion, he advocates that we should maintain our own spiritual traditions (Hindu, Christian, etc) while learning from others. 'In family life, social life, working life, and political life, inner disarmament is, above all, what humanity needs.'" (NAPRA ReVIEW)

"In the spring of 2001, the Dalai Lama spoke to an audience of 8,000 people in California. This book is a translation of that teaching. He begins with a morally stirring defense of the spiritual practice of unity saying that we are not strangers--all of us are human beings: 'Differences in belief, just like differences in experience, are minor compared to our common humanity. The essential thing is that we are all the same in being human--thinking, feeling and being aware. We all share this one planet and we are all members of one big human family.' Courageous words from a spiritual leader in exile. Stirring words from a wisdom teacher who refuses to give in to tribal hatreds and violence afoot all around the world. The Dalai Lama believes that all the world's religions must speak out in support of compassion, forgiveness, brotherhood, and sisterhood. That is why he also calls for global participation in inner disarmament by individuals and communities. In the second half of this volume, the Dalai Lama talks about the Heart Sutra and its emphasis upon emptiness as a prelude to compassion." (Spirituality and Health)

"In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama translates and interprets a central teaching of Buddhism with his trademark precision and straight talk. In the Heart Sutra, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara describes how to train in the perfection of wisdom by seeing through the illusions of all things. The Dalai Lama goes through the text passage by passage, after an extensive introduction to the basics of Buddhism and the Mahayana tradition's emphasis on emptiness, and shows how understanding emptiness is a key to happiness and liberation from suffering. Who better to explain it than the man reported to be the present-day incarnation of Avalokiteshvara himself?"-- (Brian Bruya)

Most helpful customer reviews

Hmmm, a remarkable book by a remarkable man on a remarkable sutra! The Heart Sutra is the essence of the Perfection of Wisdom class of sutras, which represent the "Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma". That is to say, the second main set of teachings by the Buddha. The First Turning was on the Four Noble Truths. The Third Turning was on Buddha Nature. But the Second Turning was on the nature of reality, emptiness -- in other words, the important stuff!This is a hard literature, crystalized in the Heart Sutra, which is only a few pages but very dense (versions of it are available on-line). Here the Dalai Lama provides an excellent commentary on this difficult text by placing it within its entire Buddhist context. The result is that one is led step by step to the deepest understanding of this sutra, which is really the most profound element of the Buddha's teaching. Remarkably, then, this book can be grasped by the beginning student as well as much more experienced students. A crucial element in Buddhism is familiarization: going back over something again and again until it is understood very deeply, and then realized personally through meditation. So such approaches, that begin from the basics and move up to very profound topics, should not be seen as needless repetition, but as opportunities to really internalize the teachings.The style of His Holiness's language is always conversational, easy to read, and humorous. This is no exception. The book is also beautiful and a pleasure to read. Most important, it is a crucial teaching that can help transform our lives.

This book is surprisingly simple but before you know it the Dalai Lama has led you up a complex stairwell of esoteric wisdom. It is so amazing how this Living Buddha can sound so down to earth. It's almost like listening to the guy next door talk about life's problems and suddenly you're on a mountaintop in Nepal, draped in a saffron robe, contemplating the Unmanifested Nature of Reality. If you're studying meditation or you want to get a taste of the Blissful state you need go no further than the Essence of the Heart Sutra. Shariputra has asked an important question, "How should any noble son or noble daughter who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom train?" The answer seems like a non-answer. "No form, no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness. No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind." I can see the modern western man asking, "Yeah but what can emptiness do for me?" That's just the point. There is no me. And on top of that, there are no things out there in the so-called real world to attach yourself to. "No color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind..." This is the perfect antidote for our material based culture made clear by the highest of all Lamas who claims to be a simple monk. How much would you pay for all of this? But wait there's more. For an added bonus the appendix has an essential translation of the Heart Sutra mantra by Jamyang Gawai Lodro. For those who are not comfortable just chanting foreign sounding words you can read what it means in plain English. Buy it now! This book will lead you on the path to priceless wisdom.

As a geographically-isolated Buddhist, I belong to a local Daoist study group. I chose the Heart Sutra to review for the study group, as a work appealing to both traditions. Having reviewed available commentaries to prepare for the presentation, I found the Dalai Lama's "Essence of the Heart Sutra" to be an exceptionally insightful treatise of this most deceptively simple, as well as shortest, of the major sutras. While he begins with the longer Tibetan version of the Heart Sutra, his analysis encompasses Tibetan, Mahayana and Theravada traditions. The book is a superlative scholarly work, written in clear language and well referenced, and should be required-reading to anyone wishing to step beyond apparent contradictions.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)

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79 of 80 people found the following review helpful

The Dalai Lama on the Heart SutraSept. 20 2005

By
Robin Friedman
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

In its enigmatic 25 lines, the Heart Sutra is one of the most difficult of Buddhist Scriptures but also one of the most rewarding. It is a basic text of Mahayana Buddhism and recited daily in monasteries and by practicing Buddhists throughout the world.

There are many commentaries, ancient and modern, on this text, but I found this recent book by the Dalai Lama, "Essence of the Heart Sutra" an outstanding place for the beginner to start. The Dalai Lama's book also will reward study by those having great prior familarity with the text. The book is based on a series of lectures that the Dalai Lama gave at the Land of Medicine Buddhist center in California and at the Three Rivers Dharma in Pittsburg.

This work is much more than a commentary on the Heart Sutra. It is equally valuable as an introduction to Buddhism and as a compendium of the teachings of the Dalai Lama. It is instructive to see how the Dalai Lama weaves his broad material together into a coherent whole. Thus, in the first part of the book, the Dalai Lama offers broad-based comments on the spiritual dimension of life, of the relationship between Buddhism and other religions, and of the fundamentals of Buddhist teachings. It is inspiring to hear words of ecumenicism, tolerance, and willingness to learn from others. It is also important to read the Dalai Lama's exposition of the basic Buddhist teaching of Dependent Origination, which is, in later sections of the book, tied masterfully to the interpretation of the Heart Sutra.

The second part of the book offers a translation and commentary on the Heart Sutra. Consistent with his opening chapters, the Dalai Lama stresses the continuity between this Mahayana text and its earlier predecessors in Theravada Buddhism. (Many other commentaries emphasize how the Heart Sutra departs from and differs from its predecessors.) In addition, in a few brief pages the Dalai Lama offers great insight into the fundamental teaching of emptiness --- that reality is "empty of intrinsic existence." He points out clearly that the Sutra does not teach that nothing exists -- a nihilistic doctrine. Instead, the Dalai Lama relates the teaching of the Sutra to the doctrine of Dependent Origination -- stressing the lack of independent existence, substantiality, and ego. He discusses different ways in which various Buddhist schools interpret the doctrine of emptiness -- including the "mind-only" school and two variants of the "middle-way" school. This material is difficult but important and not stressed in various other commentaries that I have read.

The final part of the Dalai' Lama's study discusses the Bodhisattva path of Mahayana Buddhism -- the decision to dedicate oneself to the welfare of others -- and relates it to the text of the Heart Sutra. There are teachings and practices here on learning to practice lovingkindness, also set forth in other writings of the Dalai Lama, but informed here by the discussion of emptiness and nonclinging in the Heart Sutra. This discussion, and the short epilogue, tie together the ecumenical material in the book with the elucidation and analysis of the Heart Sutra.

This book presents difficult, profound teachings in an accessible readable way. It is ideal for the beginning student or for those who want to explore the Heart Sutra to see what it might offer. It also presents an exposition of this text by the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. For those who want to read further and compare and contrast other approaches to this inexhaustible text, I recommend Red Pine's study "The Heart Sutra" and Donald Lopez' "Elaborations of Emptiness", a detailed and difficult analysis of the Heart Sutra in light of its earliest Indian and Tibetan commentaries.

Robin Friedman

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful

The Heart of the HeartAug. 14 2002

By
A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover

As a geographically-isolated Buddhist, I belong to a local Daoist study group. I chose the Heart Sutra to review for the study group, as a work appealing to both traditions. Having reviewed available commentaries to prepare for the presentation, I found the Dalai Lama's "Essence of the Heart Sutra" to be an exceptionally insightful treatise of this most deceptively simple, as well as shortest, of the major sutras. While he begins with the longer Tibetan version of the Heart Sutra, his analysis encompasses Tibetan, Mahayana and Theravada traditions. The book is a superlative scholarly work, written in clear language and well referenced, and should be required-reading to anyone wishing to step beyond apparent contradictions.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful

Fantastic Commentary on This Sutra and MoreApril 15 2004

By
Nessander
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase

Hmmm, a remarkable book by a remarkable man on a remarkable sutra! The Heart Sutra is the essence of the Perfection of Wisdom class of sutras, which represent the "Second Turning of the Wheel of Dharma". That is to say, the second main set of teachings by the Buddha. The First Turning was on the Four Noble Truths. The Third Turning was on Buddha Nature. But the Second Turning was on the nature of reality, emptiness -- in other words, the important stuff!This is a hard literature, crystalized in the Heart Sutra, which is only a few pages but very dense (versions of it are available on-line). Here the Dalai Lama provides an excellent commentary on this difficult text by placing it within its entire Buddhist context. The result is that one is led step by step to the deepest understanding of this sutra, which is really the most profound element of the Buddha's teaching. Remarkably, then, this book can be grasped by the beginning student as well as much more experienced students. A crucial element in Buddhism is familiarization: going back over something again and again until it is understood very deeply, and then realized personally through meditation. So such approaches, that begin from the basics and move up to very profound topics, should not be seen as needless repetition, but as opportunities to really internalize the teachings.The style of His Holiness's language is always conversational, easy to read, and humorous. This is no exception. The book is also beautiful and a pleasure to read. Most important, it is a crucial teaching that can help transform our lives.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

No thoughts, no book, no review...May 16 2003

By
James Inman
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover

This book is surprisingly simple but before you know it the Dalai Lama has led you up a complex stairwell of esoteric wisdom. It is so amazing how this Living Buddha can sound so down to earth. It's almost like listening to the guy next door talk about life's problems and suddenly you're on a mountaintop in Nepal, draped in a saffron robe, contemplating the Unmanifested Nature of Reality. If you're studying meditation or you want to get a taste of the Blissful state you need go no further than the Essence of the Heart Sutra. Shariputra has asked an important question, "How should any noble son or noble daughter who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom train?" The answer seems like a non-answer. "No form, no feelings, no perceptions, no impulses, no consciousness. No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind." I can see the modern western man asking, "Yeah but what can emptiness do for me?" That's just the point. There is no me. And on top of that, there are no things out there in the so-called real world to attach yourself to. "No color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind..." This is the perfect antidote for our material based culture made clear by the highest of all Lamas who claims to be a simple monk. How much would you pay for all of this? But wait there's more. For an added bonus the appendix has an essential translation of the Heart Sutra mantra by Jamyang Gawai Lodro. For those who are not comfortable just chanting foreign sounding words you can read what it means in plain English. Buy it now! This book will lead you on the path to priceless wisdom.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Simply marvelous!Dec 26 2009

By
Paul
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Paperback

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's book on Heart Sutra is a piece of interesting teaching/analysis for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. As THE Dalai Lama, His Holiness on the one hand speaks with classic Buddhist fluency (in method as well as when referring to important Buddhist classics). On the other hand, as a person who has been well connected to and well versed with Western religions and many of their respected leaders, he can communicate well with western audience that consists predominately of Christians

The gist of Heart Sutra is on Essence and Form (The Essence being nothingness but not emptiness).

Some preliminary understanding related to Chapter two is important for a better understanding of the whole book, as I analysed below:

In Chapter two, DL did a comparative analysis of Buddhism vis-à-vis other religions in terms of morality and metaphysics (as well as some practical comparisons, like he said Buddhist monasteries should learn from Christian Chapters to contribute more socially like building schools and hospitals; and that some Christians having been using more meditations in pursue of their spirituality). Basically he said all religions are at one in terms of morality (like he said he agreed with fellow Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu that religious leaders should come together to help in time of natural disasters).

Again on Chapter two, on the area of Buddhist's analysis of Essence and Form, he explained that this is the great dividing line between Buddhism and most other religions that believe in the existence of an absolute Being or Beings (normally referred to as God (s)). In the final Buddhist's analysis (of metaphysical in nature), God as an Essence will be analyzed away, i.e. that is no God. As a corollary, DL compared such an in-depth analysis of this fundamental Buddhist concept as like going to graduate school, and shall be attempted only by Buddhists during further pursue of their spirituality. What DL meant is that one cannot BOTH believe in God(s) and believe in the emptiness of Essence (in the final analysis, God as an absolute Essence does not exist), a fundamental conflict of two belief systems.

With the above in perspective, we can understand why the book was organized into three sections. The first section is called Buddhism in Context, give a short comparison on religions (as per above) together with a framework of Buddhist practice and metaphysical system. Putting his Buddhists and non-Buddhists (assuming Christians) readers into different receptive modes.

The second section deals directly with Heart Sutra and is directly relevant to devoted Buddhists. And here DL did a great job in teaching us a comprehensible metaphysical system of Buddhism built upon the Heart Sutra with Essence = Nothingness as its core construct. It is interesting to note that logically (or scientifically) speaking the Heart Sutra is very simple: Behind every Form (including concrete Buddhist practices, as examples of Form), there is its Essence and which is Nothingness (not emptiness). DL also noticed this simple Negation (negation of form and unchanging essence). He explained that this Negation hides the greatest wisdom. But as with all metaphysics, one cannot arrive at a definite proof of one's initial metaphysical propositions. For religions that believe in the existence of absolute Being (or Beings), FAITH fills the missing gap. Buddhism is in an interesting situation, without the authority of a God, a Buddhist has to seek his own Enlightenment. Here, the path to seek a solution for a Buddhist is meditation (assuming that the Buddhist has already practiced Buddhist morality and exercised his logical (conscious) faculty to understand the supporting metaphysical arguments behind). Through deep meditation, a Buddhist can experience by himself (or herself) the meaning of Form, Essence and Nothingness. DL explored the important of meditation in other books of his. Interested readers can refer to How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Life.

Look at it from the light of the above, from another perspective of analysis, it seems that the very common Buddhist practice of recitation of the Heart Sutra around the Buddhist world serves as an act of reminder of an important Buddhist teaching (because the Heart Sutra is devoid of metaphysical arguments), though I won't go so far as to say that it is a reaffirmation of one's Buddhist FAITH.

The final section "The way of Bodhisattva", DL teaches that the next step in a Buddhist's spiritual development is to become a Bodhisattva. The Sutra path towards which however has not been discussed in depth here. Needless to say the Tantric path of Deity Yoga will be another story, subject to study or practice to pursue, depending on one's religious affiliation and/or devotion.